Cascades International Warehouse Roof, Niagara Falls, NY
Cascades warehouse in Niagara Falls, NY had a severely aged 154,000 s/f of single ply roofing that had served it's lifespan and the owner had to face a tough decision to either tear-off the roof or restore the roof.
The underlying BUR that was below the single ply membrane was installed in the late 40's and after testing, it was determined that it contained asbestos. Now faced with a multi-million dollar cost of removal and replacement decision, they searched out other methods of waterproofing the existing membrane without having to disturb the asbestos underlying roofing system. Having done other projects for the owner, they turned to United Thermal Systems for a solution to their problem.
UTS inspected the roof and determined that with proper preparation, the asbestos containing underlying roof could be left in-place and a silicone coating applied over the top of the membrane to make them watertight.
The entire roof was pressure washed with 4,000 psi water, membrane damages repaired with closed-cell roofing spray foam and all expansion joints (2,850 lf of them) were reworked with a mesh fabric and 96% solids silicone coating to allow it to remain flexible for building movement.
The cleaned surface was then coated with 3,650 gallons of Gaco Western 96% solids silicone coating restoration system, giving the owner not only a watertight roof, but one that should last them at least 20+ years of service. The owner not only saved over $1 Million dollars in roofing costs, but now can be assured that the contents of the building can remain dry.